Lac Saint-Pierre
Location	Quebec
Coordinates	46°12′N 72°50′W / 46.2°N 72.833°W / 46.2; -72.833Coordinates: 46°12′N 72°50′W / 46.2°N 72.833°W / 46.2; -72.833
Primary inflows	Saint Lawrence River, Richelieu River, Saint-François River
Primary outflows	Saint Lawrence River
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	35 km (22 mi)
Max. width	10 km (6 mi)
Surface area	353 km2 (136 sq mi)
Average depth	3 m (9.8 ft)
Max. depth	11.3 m (37 ft)
Surface elevation	3.3 m (11 ft)

Lac Saint-Pierre is a lake in Quebec, Canada, located on the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières, downstream and east of Montreal and forms part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Including its shoreline, islands, and wetlands, the lake is a nature reserve.

This seasonally-flooded area is an important stopping point for hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl. It is also an important nesting area for herons: more have been counted here than in any other place in North America. In 1998, it was recognized as a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention.

Lac Saint-Pierre was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2000.

[edit] Environmental problems

Despite its biosphere reserve status, the lake contains an unknown number of unexploded bombs from tests in the 1950s through 2000s, and sewer waste from Montreal decreases the water quality.

[edit] In popular culture

Lac Saint-Pierre is the setting of the poem, folk ballad, and animated short, "the Wreck of the Julie Plante," by William Henry Drummond.

[edit] External links

• Information sheet on Ramsar Wetlands: Lac Saint-Pierre PDF
• Lac Saint Pierre Biosphere Reserve, Canada (UNESCO site)
• The Lake Was A Bomb Test Site (French)

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